Akira (planned film)

Akira is a planned science fiction live-action film based on the Japanese manga, Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo. Warner Bros., who have held the rights to a live-action version of Akira since 2002, have repeatedly struggled to get production off the ground over various concerns.

Most recently, the film was to be directed by Taika Waititi, with production to start in July 2019, and scheduled for theatrical release on May 21, 2021. However, just prior to production, Waititi put the project on hold to direct Thor: Love and Thunder for Marvel Studios.

Production

Film rights and conception

Akira is considered one of the most influential manga works, and had already been developed into a 1988 anime film Akira, itself a critically acclaimed film. In the 1990s, Sony Pictures obtained the rights to the property with the intent of creating a live-action adaptation. The project was ultimately cancelled due to budgetary concerns.[1] In 2002, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to create a live-action remake of Akira as a seven-figure deal.[2][3] However, the project has undergone several failed attempts to produce it, and is frequently considered to have been in development hell.[4] Over the course of its troubled development, at least five different directors and ten different writers have been attached.[5][6] The directors reportedly had some freedom with the project; according to writer Gary Whitta, who had written an early draft of the screenplay, they were told that Otomo had instructed those working on the film "basically to not be afraid to change things, that he wanted to see an original and different interpretation, not just a straight-up remake".[5] In a June 2017 interview, Otomo said that he was "basically done with Akira" as a manga, and that "if someone wants to do something new with Akira then I am mostly okay with that", on the condition that he be allowed to review and approve of any approach a writer might take with a live-action adaptation.[7]

IGN concluded that long-term troubles with producing the live-action film primarily came from two areas. Firstly, there has been the fear of whitewashing or racebending, casting American or other Western actors in lieu of Japanese ones, which has frequently come to light when such actors have been reported as under consideration for these roles. Secondly, Akira itself is not considered a story that is easy to relocate outside of Japan, due to the heavy influence on the original story of Japan's role in World War II, including the atomic bombings of Japan, and their own Unit 731.[5] Attempts to make it more Westernized in order to draw American audiences, such as using the September 11 attacks as part of the establishing events instead of the atomic bombings, required fundamental changes to the story, which has subsequently drawn much criticism.[8]

Shortly after Warner Bros. acquired the rights, Stephen Norrington was slated to direct with James Robinson writing the screenplay and Dan Lin producing.[5][9] Norrington had planned to make his adaptation more appealing to Western audiences. His version also would have made Kaneda and Tetsuo brothers. However, following the commercial failure of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003 (which both Norrington and Robinson also collaborated on), the project was put on hold.[5]

Director Ruairi Robinson announced in 2008 he was teaming with Whitta to adapt the manga for live-action, with the plan to split it into two films, with the first to be completed and released by 2009. Producer Andrew Lazar said that the first film would cover volumes 1 through 3 of the manga, with the rest covered in the second film.[10] Whitta, in a 2015 interview, said that the story would have taken place in a futuristic Japan-owned Manhattan, renaming the region to New Tokyo. This would have allowed them to have used a mixture of Western and Asian cultures and actors so as to avoid concerns that they would be whitewashing the project.[5][11] Robinson left the project in 2009 and was replaced by directors Allen and Albert Hughes, though later Allen would drop out in 2011. They used Whitta's script, with additional rewrites by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, with plans to aim for a PG-13 rating.[5] Around 2011, a version of the Akira script leaked online; though it was unclear if it was Whitta's or Fergus/Ostby's draft, the scripts were criticized for deviating significantly from the source material in several ways, according to IGN, such as making Akira a "psychotic murderous creepy child", the inclusion of heavy-handed references to the September 11 attacks, and characters written in a misogynistic fashion.[5] Around this same time, casting calls for the film led to accusations of whitewashing. Shortly after these events, Hughes left the project, citing "amicable creative differences".[5]

In July 2011, Jaume Collet-Serra was hired to direct, with Steve Kloves providing revision work on a draft by screenwriter Albert Torres.[12] The film was greenlit in October 2011, with filming eyed to begin by February or March 2012.[13]

In January 2012, as production was gearing up to begin in Vancouver, Warner Bros. halted production, citing issues with casting, the script and the budget.[14] Collet-Serra would depart the film during this time, but would return in August 2013.[15] He detailed his vision for the film in February 2014, stating that it would be respectful of the source material, but would still have differences.[16][17] Dante Harper would be hired to write a new draft of the screenplay in 2014.[18] However, by March 2015, Collett-Serra stated that no further development on the film had been made.[19] In July of that, Marco Ramirez was hired to rewrite the script.[20] After Collett-Serra once again exited the project, Warner Bros. offered George Miller the chance to direct the film, but he turned it down due to commitments to other projects.[21] The studio was also reported to have been in talks with Justin Lin to direct the film.[22] Jordan Peele was offered the chance to direct, but declined.[23]

In September 2017, it was announced that director Taika Waititi was in talks to direct.[3] He asserted his intention to cast Asian-American teenagers to play the leads to avoid concerns over whitewashing, and preferred lesser-known actors for the roles. He also intended to adapt the original six-volume manga rather than directly adapting the anime film.[24]

In May 2019, Waititi was officially confirmed to direct the film, and would be co-writing the script with Michael Golamco, with a release date of May 21, 2021.[25][26] Filming was scheduled to have commenced in California in July 2019.[27] However, when it was announced that Waititi would direct Thor: Love and Thunder, he dropped out of Akira, once again putting the project on hold.[28] Waititi said to IGN in October 2019 that he is still committed to Akira once his commitment on Thor is complete.[29] Warner Bros. ultimately removed Akira from its release schedule by December 2019, replacing the May 2021 date with The Matrix 4.[30] In an interview in February 2020, Waititi said that Thor had caused Akira to be pushed out at least two years, and he was not sure if he would still be involved.[31]

Casting

Several actors have been considered for principle roles throughout the development of the project. By May 2011, Andrew Garfield, Robert Pattinson and Michael Fassbender were met with for the role of Tetsuo, while Garrett Hedlund, Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix were being considered for the role of Kaneda. Keanu Reeves was also being courted to star.[32] Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter were offered the roles of The Colonel and Lady Miyako, respectively.[33] By November, Hedlund had entered negotiations to star as Kaneda, and Kristen Stewart had been offered the role of Ky Reed. Oldman declined his offer, and Ken Watanabe was approached to replace him. Paul Dano and Michael Pitt were reported to be testing for the role of Kaneda, and Keira Knightley was also approached for a role before production halted.[34][35][36]

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References
  1. Falk, Ben (21 March 2017). "Akira: The long and tortured history of the live-action remake". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. Linder, Brian et al. (12 April 2002). "Akira Hollywood Remake!?" IGN.com. Retrieved 24 October 2006. Archived 13 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Busch, Anita; Flemming, Mike (19 September 2017). "'Akira' Back? 'Thor: Ragnarok' Helmer Taika Waititi In Talks". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. Gramuglia, Anthony (14 April 2019). "Akira: The Long, Exhausting History of Hollywood's Live-Action Movie". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. Marc, Christopher (6 April 2017). "Akira: The Tortured History of the Unmade Live-Action Adaptation". IGN. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  6. Kit, Borys (5 January 2012). "'Akira' Production Offices Shut Down As Warner Bros. Scrutinizes Budget (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014.
  7. Anderson, Kyle (1 June 2017). "Akira creator says he must approve any live-action film". The Nerdist. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  8. Joest, Mick (2 August 2019). "Why Does The Akira Movie Keep Running Into Production Problems?". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  9. Linder, Brian (12 April 2002). "Akira Hollywood Remake!?". Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  10. Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub. "Exclusive: Producer Andrew Lazar Video Interview JONAH HEX; Plus Updates on AKIRA, ONE FINGER SALUTE, GET SMART 2, More". Collider.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  11. "Screenwriter Gary Whitta Says His AKIRA Script Took Place in a Japanese-owned Manhattan". Collider.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  12. Warner Bros. taps ‘Unknown’ director for ‘Akira’
  13. Warners greenlights ‘Akira’; Hedlund front-runner
  14. 'Akira' Production Offices Shut Down As Warner Bros. Scrutinizes Budget (Exclusive)
  15. Jaume Collet-Serra Returns to Direct ‘Akira’ (EXCLUSIVE)
  16. Jaume Collet-Serra’s ‘Akira’ Won’t Be Too Faithful to the Source Material
  17. "Director Collet-Serra Hopes Live-Action Akira Will Be His Next Work". News. Anime News Network. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  18. Fleming, Jr, Mike. "Dante Harper Boards Fox 2000s 'The Secret Of The Temple'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  19. Jaume Collet-Serra Says No Progress Has Been Made on Live-Action AKIRA Movie
  20. ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner to Resurrect ‘Akira’ Movie at Warner Bros.
  21. Bulter, Tom (6 October 2015). "George Miller Turned Down The Live Action Akira Remake (Exclusive)". Yahoo UK. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  22. Popcorn Talk. "Akira with Justin Lin?, Sister Act 3, The Rock as the Wolfman & More – Meet The Movie Press". Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2016 – via YouTube.
  23. Chitwood, Adam (16 May 2017). "Jordan Peele Explains Why He Won't Be Directing 'Akira'". Collider. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  24. Sharf, Zack (11 October 2017). "Taika Waititi Teases 'Akira' Film Adaptation, Says No One Has to Worry About Whitewashing". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  25. Couch, Aaron (24 May 2019). "Taika Waititi's 'Akira' Sets 2021 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  26. D'Alessandro, Anthony (24 May 2019). "Taika Waititi's 'Akira' Will Take Off In Summer 2021". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  27. Patton, Dominic (2 April 2019). "Leonardo DiCaprio Produced 'Akira' Scores In Latest CA Tax Credits Allocation". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  28. Kit, Borys (16 July 2019). "Taika Waititi to Direct 'Thor 4' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  29. Schedeen, Jesse (18 October 2019). "Akira: Taika Waititi Still Directing Live-Action Anime Movie After Thor 4". IGN. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  30. Hipes, Patrick (11 December 2019). "Warner Bros Sets Release Dates For 'The Matrix' Sequel, 'The Flash' & More; 'Akira' Off Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  31. Authur, Kate (12 February 2020). "Taika Waititi on Oscars, His 'Jojo Rabbit' Journey and Those 'Star Wars' Rumors". Variety. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  32. Keanu Reeves Circling Warner Bros.' Akira (Exclusive)
  33. Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman Could Be in ‘Akira’
  34. Garrett Hedlund in talks for Warners’ ‘Akira’
  35. Kristen Stewart Has an Offer to Star in 'Akira,' Will She Accept?
  36. Gary Oldman Won’t Be in ‘Akira’, Ken Watanabe Offered Colonel Role Instead
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